Gay men and lesbians who are planning to one day have children together are being sought to take part in a research project into the 'Gayby Boom'. University of Canterbury lecturer Nicola Surtees' doctorate research is investigating the intended and actual parenting of lesbians and gay men who have teamed up to produce and raise children together. Surtees says generally speaking, more lesbians and gay men appear to be having children in New Zealand than ever before. She says in the Western World this has been dubbed the 'Gayby Boom'. Surtees has already found 11 families across New Zealand who have had children and are co-parenting in the context of lesbian or gay relationships, which is providing enough input for that aspect of her research. "The families I'm working with typically include a lesbian couple who have had children with the help of a gay man, who is known as dad to the children and involved in their lives. Sometimes the dad's partner is known as the second dad or an 'uncle'," she says. Surtees says it's probably too early to say what she is learning from the families, but she says they are certainly richly diverse and have some common factors. "This often includes a belief that the more loving adults in a child's life, the better." The researcher has also had a lot of interest from lesbians who have used either straight donors to conceive their children or an anonymous donor. "There has been a shift away from using anonymous donors though. More lesbians are seeing the benefits of having a donor dad involved in their kids' lives and believe this is important for their kids." Surtees is now looking for lesbians and gay men who are hoping to become parents one day, or who are actively planning for this right now. "Either with other lesbians or with gay men, or with the help of a straight surrogate or sperm donor. While I have some participants in this category, I really need more." Participation will involve one or two interviews with Surtees, either in person or over the phone. The PhD student hopes the study will increase knowledge about family and parenting possibilities of relevance to all people in an increasingly complex society, not just those who identify as lesbian or gay. "I hope the study will contribute to knowledge about a range of planning processes, including the adult/adult and adult/child negotiation necessary in situations of multiple parents and multiple households." Interested future parents can contact Nicola Surtees by email: nicola.surtees@canterbury.ac.nz.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 28th May 2010 - 1:00pm